Killer Summer

by Lynda Curnyn

* * *

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sage

  The kingdom is at hand.

  Being on Fire Island for the long holiday weekend had not only recharged my batteries but cleansed my soul. I felt in control again. In command. I was in command, now that Maggie was no longer around. In fact, when I came into the office on Wednesday morning, I was even starting to think about whether or not it was premature to talk to Tom about the sales manager job. I didn’t want to offend him by broaching the subject too soon after Maggie’s death.

  On the other hand, I also didn’t want to lose out on the job I had wanted ever since the day Tom hired me.

  Which was why I felt a tremor of foreboding when Yaz informed me as I breezed past the reception desk, that Tom wanted to see me in his office.

  I paused. “Did he say what it was about?”

  She shrugged. “No. Only that you should head over there as soon as you got in.”

  I nodded, turning around and heading for the elevators once more. And as I walked the two blocks down Seventh Avenue that lay between the Edge showroom and Luxe’s offices, I started to worry. Tom wasn’t the type to call impromptu meetings. He was always so scheduled.

  And superorganized, I thought, once I stood in Tom’s office, which was so neat you could perform surgery in it.

  “You wanted to see me, Tom?”

  “Sage,” Tom said, turning in his chair away from the computer screen he’d been staring at to face me. “Come on in. Have a seat.”

  I sat in one of the leather chairs that faced his desk.

  “Listen, Shari came to see me yesterday about some samples you were sending back to production for changes.”

  A coldness moved through me. “She did, did she?”

  He nodded. “She was concerned because, well, you know, the sales manager is the only one who can authorize such changes…”

  That little bitch. How dare she go over my head and make me look bad? “Look, Tom, have you had a chance to see those samples?”

  “I have, and I—”

  “Surely then, you agree with me that the changes were necessary. The buttons were too heavy. And the shoulder flaps were an abomination—”

  “I do agree with you, Sage. Shari was just concerned because up until now, she’s been taking her orders from Maggie, and since Maggie’s not around…”

  Maybe it was the accusation behind his words, but I felt my anger suddenly spike. So much so, I broached the very subject that had been dancing through my mind these past few weeks. And not very delicately. “Listen, Tom, I know you loved Maggie and I know you thought she was the perfect person to run Edge, but the truth is, I was the one doing all the merchandising until Maggie came along—”

  “I recognize that, Sage, and I—”

  “Wait, let me finish. You probably don’t realize this either, but I was the one who got the lion’s share of the retailers on board for Edge. And I was the one who saved our asses with the Urban Lives account, because if it had been left to Maggie, they would have destroyed the samples we sent. I had to remerchandise everything, not to mention soothe egos so the buyer there would even consider looking at our goods again. That was me, Tom. Not Maggie. Me!”

  Tom stared at me, dumbfounded, while I caught my breath. It wasn’t easy. My heart was racing in my chest, and from the way he was looking at me, I had the feeling that far from landing the job I wanted, I had lost the one I had.

  Shaking his head, Tom said, “Sage, I’m not arguing with you. Look, you don’t think I know how instrumental you’ve been since the start-up of Edge?” He stood, walking to the window. “Maggie didn’t have any experience in the industry. I knew her weaknesses when I hired her, but I thought they’d be outweighed by her business sense. She always had a good head for numbers and I figured she’d be a whiz managing the budgets. And she was, to a certain degree.” He sighed as he turned to face me once more. “I knew she was leaning on you when it came to many things, which is why you were the first person I thought of when the job opened up again.”

  “You did?” I said, letting out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Of course. Sage, I know I probably should have given you the job to start with, except you didn’t have the management experience—”

  “But I managed The Bomb—”

  He held up a hand. “At the time, it seemed like a huge leap that you could go from managing a retail store to managing a wholesale sales office. But I took a chance on you when I brought you over to Edge as a sales rep, and I’m going to take another one right now.”

  I felt the blood rushing to my head, heart thrumming.

  “The job is yours, if you still want it.”

  “Oh, Tom, of course I want it!”

  “But there are two conditions,” Tom warned. “You’ll help me hire a new sales rep. And you’ll come to me with any questions. I know you, Sage. You like to handle everything yourself.”

  “I promise,” I said, “I really do.”

  Then, before I could think better of it, I rounded the desk and threw my arms around him, enveloping him in a hug.

  And when I leaned back to look at him, I was surprised to discover that we both had tears in our eyes.

  “So he just gave you Maggie’s job?” Zoe said, when I called her with my good news. Not exactly the reception I’d been expecting. In fact, I was hoping at least my best friend would be happy for me, especially after the conversation I’d just had with my mother when I called to tell my parents the news. Of course my mother was happy for me. For about two minutes. The remainder of the conversation was spent talking to me about her progress on the “Keep Hope Alive” theater festival she and my father were busily preparing for.

  Sighing, I said, “I think the proper response, Zoe, is ‘Congratulations.’” What was wrong with everybody?

  “Hey, Sage, I’m sorry. I’m really happy for you. I’m just wondering about Tom. I mean, Maggie’s barely cold in her grave, and he’s giving away her clothes to the poor, her job to you—”

  “Zoe, Tom is running a business. He can’t let his company go to hell just because he lost someone. No matter who that person is. You might understand that better if you had a real job.”

  She was silent on the other end, and I suddenly realized that maybe I had gone too far. “I’m sorry, Zoe. I didn’t mean that.” I blew out a breath. “It’s not that I don’t care. It’s just that somebody needs to do Maggie’s job now that she’s gone. And I happen to believe I’m the most qualified person.”

  “I know you are, Sage. I’m sorry. I am happy for you. But—”

  “No buts, Zoe. Just let it be, okay?”

  I could practically feel her squirming on the other end of the phone, until finally she said, “Maybe we should go out for drinks. Me, you and Nick. To celebrate.”

  I smiled. Now that was more like it. “Actually, Tom mentioned something about having a little dinner party at the beach house Saturday night.”

  “Another party? He just threw a party.”

  “Zoe—”

  “Well, who’s coming? Not all those people who were there last weekend.”

  I was tempted to taunt her by telling her that twice as many people were coming, but instead I said, “No, just us. And some other people from the company. Donnie Havens and his wife. Vince.” At least I hoped he invited Vince. Because if he didn’t, I would.

  “Well, that sounds…nice,” she said.

  I rolled my eyes.“Look, Zoe, I have to go. My other line is ringing.” I felt relief at the sight of another extension lighting up on my phoneset. I was hoping the new caller would give a more enthusiastic reception to my news.

  And once I hung up with Zoe and picked up the new call, I did find a very excited Nick on the other end of the line.

  “Hey, Sage,” he said breathlessly.

  “Nick,” I said, wondering at the jubilation in his tone. “I was just going to call you.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s up?”

  “I just got pro
moted to sales manager of Edge!”

  “Hey, it looks like we got two things to celebrate then.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, I just lined up my first band for the label.”

  I frowned. “Wow, that was quick. How’d you manage that?”

  “I have my ways.”

  “Nick, you didn’t borrow money from your dad again, did you?”

  “C’mon, Sage, what kind of man do you think I am?”

  A poor man. “I was just wondering how you got a band under contract with no capital. Don’t you have to pay them?”

  “Hey, listen, Sage, that’s my problem, not yours. The band will get paid in due time. I got it covered.”

  I bit my lip. I had heard that before. Only to learn Nick had hit up his father for a loan. I wondered if he’d even paid that one back yet. His parents were doing better than mine, but by no stretch of the imagination were they rich. Somehow I held back from saying anything more. Last time I’d tried to tell Nick how to run his life, he’d accused me of smothering his dreams. I guessed I had to watch him fall down all by himself, though I had watched him do it so many times, it was getting harder and harder.

  “Hey, listen,” he said now, “I’m calling cause I’m trying to round up some people for Nose Dive’s first New York City show tomorrow night.”

  “Nose Dive? What kind of name is that?”

  “I know—cool, right? Sort of a riff on the Led Zeppelin name. You know that story, right? How when Zeppelin was starting out, someone told them they were going to go down like a Led Zeppelin? They took on the name right after that. Probably to tempt fate. Nose Dive is kinda doing the same thing.“

  It was easy to tempt fate when you were talented, and Led Zeppelin was a talented band. But Nose Dive I’d never heard of, and if they were anything like some of the other bands Nick had dragged me to see, I had to wonder. “Where are they playing?”

  “Don Hill’s. Show starts at 11:00 p.m. You in?”

  The last thing I needed during my first week of my new job was to be going out late. “You know it’s a school night, Nick.”

  “Come on, Sage. This is the band I’m hoping to launch Revelation with. I’d like to get a good crowd there, you know?”

  Though I was just as worried about this latest venture as I had been about all the others, I had to show support. What were friends for, right? “I’ll be there.”

  “Cool. Could you let Zoe know? And if you could e-mail your list, too, that would be awesome. See if you can scatter up a crowd.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “You’re the best, Sage. But you knew that already, right?”

  “Yep,” I answered, rolling my eyes.

  “So I’ll see you tomorrow night then, right?”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Excellent. Listen, I gotta bolt.”

  “Wait, Nick—”

  “What’s up?”

  “You forgot to say congratulations.”

  “Hey, don’t you worry about that, sweetie. We’ll be celebrating tomorrow night.”

  “Whatever,” I said, hanging up the phone.

  I wasn’t sure exactly what we would be celebrating, but at this point, I would take what I could get.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty

  Nick

  Yeah, I got a good band. I just hope I’m not the one singing the blues.

  I was glad, at least, that Ray was covering the door, but that was all I was glad about tonight. The crowd was looking pretty thin for a Thursday, and Thursday was one of Don Hill’s most happening nights, band-wise.

  Not that I was worried. It was early yet. Nose Dive didn’t go on until eleven, and it was—I looked at my watch. Shit, ten forty-five.

  Okay, so I was worried.

  Sage and Zoe weren’t even here yet. I hoped they at least showed up. I didn’t bust Ray’s ass to get them comp admissions for nothing. He was a good guy, that Ray. He owed me anyway. I had packed this place enough times, back in the day.

  I just hoped I could pack it tonight.

  “Hey.”

  I looked up to find Les Wolf, lead singer of Nose Dive, at my side. He was looking good. For an ugly motherfucker. My eyes roamed over his freshly shaved head, demon-green eyes and bushy-as-hell brows. At least he had dressed okay, I thought, studying his black T-shirt, black leather pants and thick, black-soled boots. And he was a hell of a musician. Wrote all of Nose Dive’s songs, with a few exceptions where he’d done some interesting collaborations with the band. Chicks dug him, too, despite his somewhat scary face. And though I hate to admit it, that matters.

  I saw him glance uneasily around the half-filled space.

  “Don’t sweat it, Les. If you build it, they will come. I got some of my peeps coming. And after we get the CD out there and put our publicity plans in effect, you’ll see bigger crowds.”

  “Yeah,” he replied. He didn’t look reassured. That was the thing about these artist types. They needed lots of reassurance.

  “Hey, dude, you guys are the best new band out there. Remember what happened with Radiohead?” I said, naming one of my all-time favorite bands.“Yeah, they had a hit with Pablo Honey. But it wasn’t until OK Computer that they really got the respect they deserve.”

  “I know, you’re right,” he said, looking up on the stage where his bass player was still setting up.

  “You guys pretty much ready to rock and roll?”

  “Pretty much,” he answered, but I could see he was no longer listening to me. I followed his gaze.

  Finally, I thought, watching Sage strut in wearing a pair of low-slung jeans and a midriff-baring sea-green tank top that showed off her flat, tan stomach and brought out the green of her eyes. Zoe was lagging along behind her, looking pretty cute herself. For Zoe anyway. Not that she wasn’t cute, but she didn’t, let’s say, show off her assets. She’s got a nice little body, Zoe, though you’d never know it. But tonight I could see the T-shirt was a bit tighter than usual. And she had some killer heels on with her jeans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Zoe in heels.

  I don’t think Zoe has ever been in heels. She looked pretty damn uncomfortable.

  “Hey,” I said, leaning in to kiss Sage and then Zoe. “Did Ray comp you at the door?”

  “He did,” Sage said, winking at me. Then I saw her look at Les. “Hi,” she greeted him. Probably because he was gawking at her. Sage had that effect on men.

  “Sage Daniels, Zoe Keller, meet Les Wolf, lead singer and the brains behind Nose Dive.”

  Sage beamed her usual fifty-watt smile, which I think might have blinded Les, judging by the way he stood there, tongue tied. “Nice to meet you,” Sage was saying. “Nick has been raving about you guys. I can’t wait to hear you jam.”

  Good old Sage. Laying on the charm, as usual. I was glad, too, ‘cause Les was still hemming and hawing over the contract. The more warm and friendly he felt toward me—and my friends, who are an extension of me, right?—the better.

  Seeing that Les had finally recovered enough to hold up his end of the conversation Sage had engaged him in, I turned to Zoe.

  “So how’s it hanging, Zoe?”

  “It doesn’t hang, Nick, remember? At least not in these jeans, it doesn’t.”

  “Yeah?” I said, leaning back to check her out. Wow. Those jeans were tight. Who knew Zoe had such a nice ass? Maybe I had underestimated her. “Well, you’re looking pretty hot.”

  “Thanks,” she said, her face a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. “I think.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m taking a page from Sage’s book. Actually, I’m taking clothes from Sage’s closet. I showed up at her apartment in shorts and sneakers and she threw a hissy fit. I just wanted to be comfortable, but she accused me of being depressed.”

  “Depressed? Why would she think that?”

  She shook her head, gazed off at the stage. “I had a little run-in with Myles. Nothing major.”

  I put an arm around her. “Ah, Z
oe.”

  “Don’t ‘Ah, Zoe’ me. I’m fine. We just had a…a disagreement. It really wasn’t anything.”

  I looked at her, noticing she had a touch of makeup on, too. “Don’t worry about him. You could have any guy you want.”

  “Yeah,” she said, looking away.“It’s not him I’m worried about.” Then her eyes narrowed.“Look at that girl—she’s wearing shorts.”

  I turned and saw the tall blonde she was referring to.“Uh, those are hot pants. It’s a little different.” I looked at Zoe again. Actually, I leaned around to look at her ass. “So these are Sage’s jeans? I can’t believe you fit into them.”

  “Thanks a lot,” she said.

  Oops. Now she looked pissed at me. “I mean, you look good, Zoe. You should dress like this a little more often.”

  “Forget it,” she said. “Do you know I had to lie down on the bed to get these pants zipped up? And the only reason I could fit my ass into Sage’s jeans is because these are a little too big on her. And these shoes, Jesus. I thought women had evolved since the days of stilettos?”

  I laughed. Zoe. She was funny when that femi-nazi side came out. Not that I ever called her a femi-nazi. Actually, I did once. She nearly clubbed me. “Hey, listen, I’m glad you came,” I said. I meant it, you know? There were very few people you could count on nowadays and I was appreciative of Zoe and Sage’s support. They were the two people in this world I knew I could rely on. Not like some of the other people I’d invited to this gig, I thought, glancing around.

  “Hey, don’t sweat it, Nick,” Zoe said, as if reading my mind. “It’s not always the crowd that counts. My first documentary got zip in terms of distribution, but I garnered a pretty nice critics award. Really bolstered video sales.”

  See, that’s what I love about Zoe. The chick’s got integrity. She knows firsthand what it’s like to get behind what you love, even if the world isn’t behind it initially.

  Les sidled up to us. “Could you excuse us for a moment?” he said to Zoe.

  “Sure,” Zoe replied. “I’m gonna get a drink. Nick, you need anything?”